Jaishankar explains how India is navigating maze of US, Russia, China amid Trump's new global order

External affairs minister S Jaishankar

As the old “liberal rules-based order” comes under extreme pressure following Donald Trump’s come back as US President, external affairs minister S Jaishankar feels “this was a long time coming”.

Jaishankar is surprised that the world is astonished that Trump is doing what he promised would do. “Maybe I took him more at face value,” the minister said in an interview with Financial Times.

Interestingly, the BJP leader noted that the Americans are talking about a multipolar world, which used to be New Delhi’s talking point. However, Jaishankar pointed out to the newspaper that he won’t miss anything from the old-world order as he is a ‘realist’ and he works with what he has got.

But how should the new world order look like?

Jaishankar said the world needs an order, because otherwise it would become a “very anarchic”. He told FT that “unrestrained competition” would increase the pressure and India needs an order that reflects the world “as it is now” and not what it was after the second world war, which favoured the west. He also said the virtues of the old world order are 'exaggerated'.

Ties with US amid Trump’s tariff tantrum

India, which has long had a close relationship with the erstwhile USSR and then Russia, has moved closer to the US now. The bond is likely to grow further under Trump and Modi, two nationalist leaders at helm of their respective countries. However, despite the growing ties, Trump has continuously bashed India as a tariff abuser, even during Modi’s White House visit in February.

How will New Delhi navigate Trump’s tariff puzzle? Jaishankar told FT that he believes that both the countries will likely have a trade deal soon despite Washington and New Delhi having ‘issues’. Trump is a strong nationalist but also realist about many parts of the world, Jashankar said during the interview.

On Russia

India’s stance towards Russia’s conflict with Ukraine has frustrated the west. New Delhi has continued to buy oil from Moscow and has so far refrained from condemning Vladimir Putin’s war. Jaishankar clarified that India has its own view and it cannot ‘jettison’ its old ties with Moscow. He remarked that “people often make big issues of principle”.

Clash with China

However, in recent years, Russia has grown closer to Beijing. Could that be a problem for New Delhi? Jaishankar took a long-term view that suggests that the relationship between the old partners is ‘steady’ despite changing ties of Moscow with China and the West.

Jaishankar concedes that the ties with Beijing “haven’t gone so well” because of the border skirmishes between the armies of the two countries.

Moreover, he said India will be ready with its policy in a situation where Trump strikes a deal with China.

Wearing a politician’s hat

Did Jaishankar hesitate before joining politics and becoming a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party?

The minister said that it “wasn’t an issue at all” and he was “very comfortable” with the politics of the saffron party. He credited his father “drilling nationalism” into him and therefore the thinking of his party wasn’t a problem.